We set out to Atlanta with dual agendas: Stefan, to tackle all NPUs within a 2 hour radius, and myself, to find and eat at restaurants featured on the Food Network. Below are our picks from Atlanta for great food…
The Varsity
The Varsity is noted for being the World’s largest drive-thru restaurant. According to their website, the restaurant can accommodate 600 drive-thru cars and 800 in-house diners and is reported as serving nearly 30,000 customers per day. With a motto of “We put the "comfort" in "comfort food" it is no surprise that The Varsity menu includes classic comfort foods such as chili hot dogs and hamburgers, cheese fries, onion rings, chicken fingers, BBQ pork, fried apple pie, and shakes. During our visit, Stefan ordered the chili cheeseburger and hot dog combo, and I ate chicken fingers and cheese fries. Our visit was completed with a nostalgic paper hat, complementary for guests.
Pasta Da Pulcinella
**Stefan add-on - The Tortelli di Mele was one of the absolute BEST meals I have ever eaten. I can not emphasize that enough. It was fantastic... and the cost of the whole meal, with tip was less than just about any other place we went.
Chocolate Pink Pastry Café
We went for dessert to a café I found on the internet
called the Chocolate Pink Pastry Café. The café is decorated in pink and brown with a modern, chic atmosphere. The desserts are a little on the pricey side (around $7 per dessert), but worth the expense. Stefan ordered the Apple Frangipane, a dessert with a white chocolate almond cake base with cinnamon sautéed apples baked into the top. I chose the Chocolate Pink, a dessert with a hazelnut cookie base, chocolate truffle mousse in the center, and covered on top in ganache. In addition to the specialty desserts, the café also offers cupcakes, petit fours, illy espresso, cookies, brownies, and designer chocolates. The dessert was so good, we decided to take some chocolates home for later and bought a peanut butter truffle, a pear caramel truffle, and a peanut butter and jelly chocolate- all three were excellent and probably the best chocolates I have ever had.
Café Intermezzo
Café Intermezzo is definitely the place to go if you like coffee. The theme of this restaurant is European coffeehouse, inspired by the owner’s visit to Vienna. The menu boasts pages and pages of coffee drinks, making the decisions difficult. I especially enjoyed and would recommend the Hot Chocolate Berlin, made with Nutella, steamed milk, and whipped cream. You can also order food here all day; the menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The vegetable quesadilla was very good and made with three cheeses: mozzarella, cheddar, and smoked gouda.
**Stefan add-on - This place also offers free wifi! And Kelly's not joking about the menu, there were TOO many choices, and all of them looked really good.
Flying Biscuit
On our way out of town, we ate breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Café, featured on Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels and $40 a day. There are two locations, we went to the one in midtown. It is a funky restaurant, complete with painted flying biscuits on the walls. The menu contained so many interesting takes on classic breakfast food that we had a difficult time deciding what to order. As a result, we ended up with about twice the amount of food we were able to eat. Our top picks would be the French toast and oatmeal pancakes. I was unable to decide between the two, but fortunately, the Flying Biscuit offers pancakes and French toast a la carte, so I was able to get both. The oatmeal pancakes were dense and delicious, topped with a warm peach compote and maple syrup. The French toast was to die for. The thick-cut wheat bread is soaked in custard and grilled, then topped with fresh raspberry sauce and honey crème anglaise. Stefan ordered the Piedmont omelette, filled with chicken sausage, turkey bacon, and cheese. And, because the biscuits are so famous, we each ordered one of the tall, sweet biscuits rolled in a little bit of sugar and served with cranberry-apple butter. The Flying Biscuit Café offers a cookbook that features some of their famous recipes, including the recipe for their biscuits.
The Varsity
The Varsity is noted for being the World’s largest drive-thru restaurant. According to their website, the restaurant can accommodate 600 drive-thru cars and 800 in-house diners and is reported as serving nearly 30,000 customers per day. With a motto of “We put the "comfort" in "comfort food" it is no surprise that The Varsity menu includes classic comfort foods such as chili hot dogs and hamburgers, cheese fries, onion rings, chicken fingers, BBQ pork, fried apple pie, and shakes. During our visit, Stefan ordered the chili cheeseburger and hot dog combo, and I ate chicken fingers and cheese fries. Our visit was completed with a nostalgic paper hat, complementary for guests.
Pasta Da Pulcinella
For dinner, we wanted a more intimate setting and decided to try Pasta Da Pulcinella in the Midtown section of Atlanta. The restaurant was listed in an Atlanta guidebook as a “cheap eat” so we were surprised to walk in and find a quaint dining room with dim lighting, beautiful live floral arrangements, and a fire place. The menu is concise and reasonably priced with Italian pasta dishes ranging from $9.95 to $14.95. Stefan ordered the Tortelli di Mele (pictured below), ravioli stuffed with Granny Smith apples and sausage and topped with a brown butter-sage sauce. Overall, I would describe Pasta Da Pulcinella as fine dining on a budget.
**Stefan add-on - The Tortelli di Mele was one of the absolute BEST meals I have ever eaten. I can not emphasize that enough. It was fantastic... and the cost of the whole meal, with tip was less than just about any other place we went.
Chocolate Pink Pastry Café
We went for dessert to a café I found on the internet
called the Chocolate Pink Pastry Café. The café is decorated in pink and brown with a modern, chic atmosphere. The desserts are a little on the pricey side (around $7 per dessert), but worth the expense. Stefan ordered the Apple Frangipane, a dessert with a white chocolate almond cake base with cinnamon sautéed apples baked into the top. I chose the Chocolate Pink, a dessert with a hazelnut cookie base, chocolate truffle mousse in the center, and covered on top in ganache. In addition to the specialty desserts, the café also offers cupcakes, petit fours, illy espresso, cookies, brownies, and designer chocolates. The dessert was so good, we decided to take some chocolates home for later and bought a peanut butter truffle, a pear caramel truffle, and a peanut butter and jelly chocolate- all three were excellent and probably the best chocolates I have ever had.
Café Intermezzo
Café Intermezzo is definitely the place to go if you like coffee. The theme of this restaurant is European coffeehouse, inspired by the owner’s visit to Vienna. The menu boasts pages and pages of coffee drinks, making the decisions difficult. I especially enjoyed and would recommend the Hot Chocolate Berlin, made with Nutella, steamed milk, and whipped cream. You can also order food here all day; the menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The vegetable quesadilla was very good and made with three cheeses: mozzarella, cheddar, and smoked gouda.
**Stefan add-on - This place also offers free wifi! And Kelly's not joking about the menu, there were TOO many choices, and all of them looked really good.
Flying Biscuit
On our way out of town, we ate breakfast at the Flying Biscuit Café, featured on Rachael Ray’s Tasty Travels and $40 a day. There are two locations, we went to the one in midtown. It is a funky restaurant, complete with painted flying biscuits on the walls. The menu contained so many interesting takes on classic breakfast food that we had a difficult time deciding what to order. As a result, we ended up with about twice the amount of food we were able to eat. Our top picks would be the French toast and oatmeal pancakes. I was unable to decide between the two, but fortunately, the Flying Biscuit offers pancakes and French toast a la carte, so I was able to get both. The oatmeal pancakes were dense and delicious, topped with a warm peach compote and maple syrup. The French toast was to die for. The thick-cut wheat bread is soaked in custard and grilled, then topped with fresh raspberry sauce and honey crème anglaise. Stefan ordered the Piedmont omelette, filled with chicken sausage, turkey bacon, and cheese. And, because the biscuits are so famous, we each ordered one of the tall, sweet biscuits rolled in a little bit of sugar and served with cranberry-apple butter. The Flying Biscuit Café offers a cookbook that features some of their famous recipes, including the recipe for their biscuits.
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